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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25844749">measure up</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cryptic_Crypto_Cryptids/pseuds/Cryptic_Crypto_Cryptids'>Cryptic_Crypto_Cryptids</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Broken Reality Server - Fandom, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crack, Crack Relationships, Crack Treated Seriously, Crack and Angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, God This Is Terrible, Help, Love at First Sight, Other, Quirk Shenanigans (My Hero Academia), Strangers to Lovers, don't read if you want to sleep at night, in which kaminari is a dumbass who i use to make a terrible terrible joke, love at first bee movie, the author has many many regrets, the bee movie is a plot device, this was written for a joke but i put too much effort in, yes that says ruler-chan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:02:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,601</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25844749</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cryptic_Crypto_Cryptids/pseuds/Cryptic_Crypto_Cryptids</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A ruler (cleverly nicknamed Ruler-chan) becomes sentient. What Hijinks will ensue? Will the ruler remain innocent? Is the author okay?</p><p>Read for all this and more!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Iida Tenya/Ruler-Chan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. let's break all the rules</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>please don't take this seriously, it was written on a dare for the broken reality discord server. i just put way too much time into it. it's been six hours. send help.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tenya was having an average day. He went to school, studied in the library, returned to the dorms and did his homework. While he was doing so, however, he realised he had lost his ruler. Which meant he needed a new one. </p>
<p>At this point, he had to hurry if he wanted to get to the store and back before curfew. </p>
<p>Fortunately, there was a small convenience store fifteen minutes away that also stocked a large amount of basic school supplies. (He could have gotten there quicker, but he wasn’t about to use his quirk illegally for this.)</p>
<p>At the store, he looked around for a moment before spotting the school supplies section. As he was looking around, a child ran into him. </p>
<p>“I’m so sorry!” The child’s mother told him with a panicked look before grabbing the boy’s hand and practically yanking him towards the exit, leaving without even buying anything.</p>
<p>A confusing encounter, to be sure, but he had to hurry. He found and selected a ruler that appeared  to be of good quality, made of wood and reasonably priced.</p>
<p>On his way to the cashier he grabbed a bottle of orange juice and some mochi as well, thinking it would be a nice surprise for Uraraka. He paid for his items and left, speed walking in to make it back in time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Back in the dormitory he found Uraraka and Midoriya in the common room, watching some old hero movie. He gave them the mochi and headed up to his room to finally finish his homework. </p>
<p>He placed the juice and his new ruler on the desk, sitting down and opening his book absentmindedly.</p>
<p>“H-Hewwo?”</p>
<p>Tenya started at the voice, whipping his head around looking for the source.</p>
<p>“HEWWO?”</p>
<p>He looked at his desk. </p>
<p>And he stared.</p>
<p>Because there on his desk lay his ruler. Which had eyes. Rather stylized ones, but they were blinking. And they were really quite pretty…</p>
<p>Wait, no, snap out of it. There was a far more urgent matter at hand: <em>Why was his ruler speaking??</em></p>
<p>“Excuse me; could I ask how you’re speaking to me? And <em>why?</em>” He hoped he didn’t come off as rude, but this situation was… quite bizarre.</p>
<p>“Hewwo! I was given life by a small one!” The ruler spoke, eyes sparkling.</p>
<p>Tenya was extremely confused, to say the least. </p>
<p>“Maybe I should get my teacher…”</p>
<p>“What’s a teacher?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Aizawa was speechless.</p>
<p>He ground his teeth and grit out “Iida, can you tell me what I’m looking at?”</p>
<p>Tenya shook his head. “I’m not sure myself.”</p>
<p>The ruler (he needed a name, or <em>something</em>) piped up. “I don’t remember anything before being here.” </p>
<p>Aizawa glanced at it before looking back to Iida with poorly concealed venom.</p>
<p>“Why does this always happen in my class. <em>Why.</em>”</p>
<p>Tenya shrugged.</p>
<p>Aizawa glared at the ruler and activated his quirk.</p>
<p>Nothing happened. </p>
<p>“I’ve decided this isn’t my problem anymore. Figure it out.” Aizawa walked out of the room, disappearing to go take a nap, probably. Tenya couldn’t blame him.</p>
<p>He turned back to the desk. </p>
<p>“Is there something I can call you?” he asked, feeling rather foolish, speaking to a ruler like a person.</p>
<p>“I don’t know… I’ve never had a name before!” the ruler replied, eyes sparkling with curiosity.</p>
<p>“Well then… I could ask my classmates?” Tenya was still trying his best to take the punches as they came, as disorienting as they were. Maybe his friends could provide an answer?</p>
<p>“Sure! I’d love to talk to more people!” The ruler seemed to truly be enthused about the possibility… it was a little weird, to be honest. But also.. cute.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He had made a mistake in bringing her to the common room. Yes, “her”, because with the help of his friend Ruler-chan had determined a name and pronouns.</p>
<p>But they also questioned her to no end. About what it was like, what she remembered, and how she could talk without a mouth. And why she had visible (and very pretty) eyes, but no other features out of the ordinary.</p>
<p>While she couldn’t answer most of the questions, she seemed to be having fun, if her soft giggling was anything to go by. </p>
<p>Midoriya had sprinted up to his room for a notebook while Tenya was still explaining, already mumbling. (Tenya suspected he’d put some of his quirk into it, but he wasn’t sure.)</p>
<p>Uraraka, on the other hand, was enchanted. She kept staring. It was getting a little uncomfortable.</p>
<p>At one point, Sero came down to do… <em>something</em>, and he saw them all sitting at the table. When he came over and saw why, he immediately got “the bakusquad”, which made the whole thing <em>so much worse.</em></p>
<p>Mostly because Kaminari kept making terrible jokes. Including inappropriate ones.</p>
<p>“So… what are you made of?” He asked, like it wasn’t incredibly obvious.</p>
<p>“Wood, I think, with a finish? I’m not positive..” She sounded confused.</p>
<p>“Wood? That’s pretty rigid, huh? Bet that’d be pretty uncomfortable..”</p>
<p>“Huh?” She narrowed her eyes, curious what he meant.</p>
<p>Sero slapped some of his tape over Kaminari’s mouth. <em>“Sorry I just remembered we have something very important to do!”</em></p>
<p>He looped more tape around his arms and torso, tying his arms down before grabbing him by the shoulders and practically dragging him to the elevator, ignoring Kaminari’s feeble struggling.</p>
<p>Mina seemed relieved. “Oh you sweet summer child. Preserve your innocence.”</p>
<p>“Uh.. okay? Anyways! Why’re you pink?”</p>
<p>They launched into a conversation about Mina’s quirk while Tenya and Midoriya talked over possible causes.</p>
<p>“The most likely possibility is someone's quirk, because everything else is impossible or highly unlikely. So if we could figure out who it was, we could know how to fix it. Or, at least, <em>what to do</em>…” Midoriya broke off into incomprehensible muttering at that point, chewing on his thumbnail as he stared at the three pages he’d already filled before adding another note.</p>
<p>Tenya turned to Uraraka. She was still looking towards the table where everyone was gathered around Ruler-chan, who was propped up in a clean glass. She couldn’t see her from where they were sitting on the couches, but she was still looking.</p>
<p>Tenya cleared his throat and she snapped her head back towards him, face flushed.</p>
<p>“Thoughts? Possible causes, solutions, the like?”</p>
<p>She looked at the floor guiltily. “Uhhh not yet?”</p>
<p>He sighed. They hadn’t gotten much further than ‘Someone’s Quirk?’, and this whole ordeal had been very draining. He hadn’t even gotten to finish his homework.</p>
<p>“We should head to bed. We have school tomorrow.” He stood up and walked over to the table. </p>
<p>“Everyone! You should all go to bed, it’s late!” He moved to pick Ruler-chan up, but was stopped by Mina standing in front of him. “Excuse me-”</p>
<p>She cut him off. “Awww but we’re having so much fun! Can’t we stay up? Pretty please?”</p>
<p>Tenya adjusted his glasses. “Ruler-chan is currently in my supervision, and I’m going to bed. So no. Now, please move aside.”</p>
<p>Mina whined, but moved, allowing him to take Ruler-chan and head up to bed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He placed her on his desk. “Is there anything you need?” </p>
<p>“No, thank you!” she chirped happily. </p>
<p>With that, he got ready for bed, planning to deal with this in the morning.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The next morning, he brought Ruler-chan to class, after determining it probably wasn’t a good idea to leave her in the dorms alone.</p>
<p>Aizawa sent him to Nedzu during homeroom, telling him to bring her with him.</p>
<p>Apparently, Nedzu was curious as to how this had happened, and had determined that the best option to keep an eye on her was for her to be an honorary UA student for the time being, so that she could stay with Tenya.</p>
<p>What this meant in effect was simply that she would sit on Tenya’s desk. </p>
<p>Returning to the classroom, he remembered his homework he never got to finish.</p>
<p>He’d have to borrow a ruler.</p>
<p>Apparently Ruler-chan had noticed his dilemma, because she said “Just use me! It’s fine!”</p>
<p>He looked at her, apprehensive. “Are.. are you sure??”</p>
<p>She gave the impression of nodding, albeit without the capability to do so, and eyes sparkled.</p>
<p>“Well.. alright then.” </p>
<p>He finished his homework quickly, and set her down on his desk.</p>
<p>Afterward followed a normal school day, and then later that day a movie night.</p>
<p>He brought Ruler-chan down to watch the movie with them, and set her down on the side table next to the couch.</p>
<p>They talked idly about school while some of the others argued over which movie they wanted to watch.</p>
<p>They ended up choosing the Bee Movie, for the fifth time. This is what happens when half of the class is way too into memes.</p>
<p>Regardless, Tenya still paid some attention to the screen. Ruler-chan, on the other hand, was watching with wide eyes and rapt attention, occasionally bursting onto bright peals of laughter. It was distracting, but he enjoyed it.</p>
<p>About 20 minutes into the movie, she started rattling the cup. </p>
<p>“Iida-kun, I can’t see well. Could you hold me?”</p>
<p>Tenya nodded and picked her up, maneuvering so she had a clear view over those sitting on the floor.</p>
<p>“Thank you!”</p>
<p>They continued watching in peace, right up until Kaminari was startled awake by one of Bakugou’s explosions, and shocked everyone, also causing a power outage for the whole dorm.</p>
<p>While startling, this was (unfortunately) a common occurrence, so everyone got up and started heading up to bed, using phones and flashlights kept nearby for just this reason.</p>
<p>Tenya stood up and grabbed a flashlight, carefully moving around anyone still on the floor.</p>
<p>“What happened?? Why i s it dark?” Ruler-chan sounded frightened. </p>
<p>“Ah, Kaminari short circuited and now the power is out. It’s fine, no one is hurt.”</p>
<p>“Aw! But now we can’t finish the movie!” She pouted. Somehow.</p>
<p>“I.. could tell you how it ends?” Tenya offered.</p>
<p>“That would be super, thanks Iida-kun!” Her eyes were glowing faintly in the dark. Weird.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tenya settled on his bed, placing Ruler-chan on the bedside table. He pulled up <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_Movie#Plot">the wikipedia page</a> for the movie on his phone, and paraphrased the last scenes of the movie.</p>
<p>“Well, in the end, they manage to restore the natural environment. The bees get to determine what honey gets sold, and Barry becomes a “Pollen Jock”. Barry opens a law firm in Vanessa’s flower shop, for “disputes between animals and humans”. All around, everything ends well.”</p>
<p>Ruler-chan looked unsatisfied. “Do Barry and Vanessa end up together?”</p>
<p>Tenya tilted his head. “What do you mean?”</p>
<p>“Well, they were in love! So it’s not a happy ending unless they’re together!”</p>
<p>Tenya looked through the article. “I’m not sure, it doesn’t say anything about it here.”</p>
<p>Ruler-chan looked unbelievably disappointed. </p>
<p>“<em>However</em>, Barry does stay with Vanessa, so I would say that counts.”</p>
<p>She perked back up again. (Seriously, how was she this expressive??)</p>
<p>“Oh, isn’t that wonderful? Two beings, in love..”</p>
<p>Tenya coughed awkwardly. “I-I suppose.”</p>
<p>“Do you love anyone?”</p>
<p>Tenya fell off the bed. “Well, now, that’s a very forward question-”</p>
<p>“I do.”</p>
<p>He looked up at her in surprise. “You do?”</p>
<p>“Yes. And now, do you?”</p>
<p>He thought about it. These past hours… they had been special. He’d never felt this way about anyone. </p>
<p><br/>
“Yes, I think I do.”</p>
<p>Her eyes softened. “Would you accept my love?”</p>
<p>Softly, he responded.</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>They talked late into the night, until Tenya fell asleep in the dim light of the early dawn.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. the ruler of his heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>What happens come morning?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this is ending one.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He woke up with a start when his alarm went off. For the third time. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>In order to not be late, he rushed through his morning routine. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Until he discovered, down in the kitchen, that it was Saturday. Somehow, it had completely slipped his mind, which meant his whole rush had all been for nothing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But at least he could spend the day with his love. Which reminded him, he hadn’t said good morning to her yet. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He returned to his room, full of joy, ready to spend hours talking.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There, in the glass where he had left her, was a normal ruler.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> What? </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Where could she possibly have gone? Did one of his classmates take her, intending it as a prank?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>However, upon closer inspection, it had the same nick at the two centimeter mark that she had.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So this really was her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He ended up grabbing Midoriya and practically dragging him to his room, determined not to disturb the “potential crime scene”, as he put it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Iida… I think the quirk just wore off. If it’s the same ruler, that’s gotta be it, right?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tenya opened his mouth, trying to come up with another explanation, but found none. He closed his mouth and curled in on himself, suddenly tired.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Iida? Are you okay?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He wasn’t, but he nodded as he rubbed the bridge of his nose before readjusting his glasses.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They wouldn’t understand. No one would. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Midoriya still seemed concerned, but he dropped it. “O-okay then, I can tell Aizawa-sensei if you want?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tenya nodded. “If anyone asks, you can tell them too. Now, I’m going to be.. busy, for a while. Excuse me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He entered his room, exhausted. But first; he dug up a box, and placed the ruler inside. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Setting the box aside gently, he sat down and began to write.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eventually, he finished his letter, and folded it up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Placing it inside the box, he sighed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His first love; short lived, but marvelous.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He put the box away, hidden at the back of his closet, away from prying eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Grief overwhelmed him, and he let the tears he’d been holding back fall. He let himself feel the pain of having his love ripped away from him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was different, not like when Tenseii had been attacked. There, he’d gone into a panic, fearing for his brother’s life. But this time, he knew. He knew she was gone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It felt good to cry.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eventually his tears ran dry, and the ache of loss pulled him into a dreamless sleep.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When he awoke, he saw that an envelope had been shoved under his door at some point, and now sat on his hardwood floor, mocking him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Inside was a collection of photos of everyone with her. His love. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Some were group shots, others were one on one. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was even one of him holding her on his lap during the movie. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He would treasure these memories, and even if he moved on, he would never forget the ruler who taught him love surpasses all barriers.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>aha. i'm going to go die now.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. mind overruled</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A twist!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this is ending two.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“AHHHHHH!”</em>
</p>
<p>Tenya was instantly up and whipping his head towards the scream, although he couldn’t see shit without his glasses, so it wasn’t particularly productive.</p>
<p>Realising this, he fumbled for his glasses, bumping against the glass sitting on his nightstand, which, to his horror, rattled before falling to the ground and shattering.</p>
<p>He swore under his breath as he fumbled his glasses onto his face, staying where he was standing to avoid stepping on the glass he couldn’t see in the dim lighting. </p>
<p>Once he could see however, he just barely avoided letting out a very undignified yelp when he saw the girl standing in his room. </p>
<p>While he had no idea how she had gotten into his room, a more pressing matter occurred to him. </p>
<p>“Ruler-chan? Are you okay??” he asked into the room, trying to look for her without stepping on the glass.</p>
<p>“Hm? I’m fine!” the girl responded, looking vaguely spooked. “But I’m not sure what happened! One moment I’m on the table, and now I’m <em>this!</em>”</p>
<p>He stared at her, actually taking her appearance in this time. </p>
<p>She was dressed in the UA uniform for General Education, and didn’t have any visible quirk. Brown hair, green eyes… which matched Ruler-chan’s. </p>
<p>So she really was her.</p>
<p>“The quirk…”</p>
<p>She looked at him quizzically.</p>
<p>“What do you mean, Iida-kun?”</p>
<p>Tenya took a deep breath and motioned for her to sit at his desk, moving to sit on his bed.</p>
<p>“Midoriya and I theorized that the whole… <em>situation</em> had probably been the result of a quirk, and this would seem to confirm it.”</p>
<p>She still looked confused, but he continued, a little desperately.</p>
<p>“This is good! You can go back to your normal life!”</p>
<p>She frowned. “But I like it here. And besides, I still don’t remember anything. How can I go back to normal?”</p>
<p>That was certainly unexpected; what to do now?</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>He knocked on the door again. Aizawa-sensei was definitely not a morning person, but even so, this was ridiculous. What if it was an emergency?</p>
<p>When he finally answered the door, Iida was relieved he hadn’t had to resort to kicking it down.</p>
<p>“What is it now?”</p>
<p>“Ruler-chan is no longer a ruler. It would seem she had been under the effects of a quirk, which wore off after at least 36 hours.”</p>
<p>Aizawa-sensei glared at him.</p>
<p>“Of course.” he growled out.</p>
<p>Stepping back, he motioned them inside the room. </p>
<p>Once they were all seated (She and him on one couch, Aizawa-sensei on the opposite one) and Aizawa-sensei had looked at his pyjamas disapprovingly (He was in a rush! There was glass all over his floor and a girl standing in his room!) they were finally able to move on.</p>
<p>“Why is she wearing a UA uniform?”</p>
<p>“I’m not sure; actually, maybe I should get Midoriya..”</p>
<p>“No need; I think I have a pretty clear picture of the situation.”</p>
<p>Tenya tried to interject, but his teacher cut him off with a glare and continued.</p>
<p>“‘Ruler-chan’ was at the same store you went to. She was hit by an unknown quirk, which somehow resulted in her looking like a ruler and also not remembering anything. Said ruler was then purchased by you. At that point she was aware enough to communicate. This led to the events of the past day. At this point in time the appearance changing effects have worn off, but her memory still appears to be affected. Did I miss anything?”</p>
<p>Tenya added “She’s wearing a Gen Ed uniform; so she must attend school here.”</p>
<p>Aizawa-sensei nodded. “Then all we need to do is look for a girl in gen ed who was missing yesterday. I’ll ask Nedzu so I can check; then, she should probably go to the hospital.”</p>
<p>Tenya nodded, but Ruler-chan interrupted, panicked. “No! I don’t want to leave!”</p>
<p>Aizawa-sensei’s voice softened as he responded to her panic. “If you want, some of your friends from this class can come with you. But you really need to go to the hospital, so they can make sure there won’t be any side effects. And I’m sure your parents are worried.”</p>
<p>She still looked upset, but she nodded quietly.</p>
<p>“Can Iida-kun come?”</p>
<p>Tenya blushed.</p>
<p>“Sure. I have to go call some people; Iida, go get dressed.”</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>They were sitting in the hospital waiting room; in the end, the group consisted of Ruler-chan, Tenya, Uraraka, Midoriya, Mina and Yaoyorozu. Ruler-chan had insisted on Tenya and Mina, Midoriya was there with his notes about the quirk’s effects, Uraraka was providing… ‘moral support’ and Yaoyorozu was there as a responsible party so that Tenya wasn’t alone with everyone else.</p>
<p>Ruler-chan had grabbed his hand on the way there, and simply hadn’t let go. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so he let it be. Besides, it was kind of nice.</p>
<p>Her parents had arrived a few minutes ago, and had rushed over, but were upset when she didn’t recognize them, even though they tried to hide it.</p>
<p>They were talking to a doctor now.</p>
<p>Ruler-chan (her parents hadn’t shared her real name yet) spoke up. “Hey Iida-kun?” </p>
<p>“Hm? Yes?”</p>
<p>She glanced around; they had been left alone for now. The others were getting some lunch for everyone at the cafeteria, they had been at the hospital for several hours already.</p>
<p>“Do you- do you still love me?”</p>
<p>Tenya blushed. “Of course. You’re the same person, ruler or- well, person.”</p>
<p>She smiled at him. A beam of sunshine. </p>
<p>“I love you too.”</p>
<p>She went back to humming softly and scuffing the floor with her shoes, still smiling softly.</p>
<p>Tenya turned away, not wanting to be caught staring, and caught sight of both the parents and doctor returning, as well as his friends.</p>
<p>“Since Jimuyohin-chan isn’t able to choose on her behalf, her parents have allowed me to share the basics with all of you. We’re guessing the amnesia will fade in about a week. Until then, she will remain at home, in her parent’s care.”</p>
<p>Her father turned to them. “However, we think it would be a good idea for all of you to exchange numbers! That way, Rura-chan will have contact with people she trusts while she’s recovering.”</p>
<p>Tenya and the others murmured noises of agreement, but his mind was already dwelling on when he would see Rura-chan again. He squeezed her hand lightly, and she glanced at him, smiling lightly.</p>
<p>“That sounds okay. I’ll miss all of you!”</p>
<p>“Oh, I’ll miss you too!” Mina wailed, rushing over to hug her.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>The week passed quickly with school to fill it, but still not quickly enough. Tenya was restless as he waited, on that Saturday evening, for Rura-chan to return to the dorm. They had texted all week, and moved to first names, but it wasn’t the same.</p>
<p>Then, he saw her. A vision of grace. </p>
<p>They met halfway, and he helped her with her bag. </p>
<p>They talked until right before curfew, at which point Tenya had to go back to his dorm.</p>
<p>That night, he fell asleep with a smile.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>this one is marginally better. for the crack levels. not really though.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>that was a hellish experience. anyways yell at me about this.. thing on tumblr @crypticcryptocryptids</p><p>EDIT: i am a fool who forgot to link the original tumblr post (including two versions of ruler-chan!) https://crypticcryptocryptids.tumblr.com/post/626183400069496832/tenya-and-a-ruler-slow-burn-300k</p></blockquote></div></div>
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